Chapter 6: The Lord of the Mire
Ballan had decided his wounded leg was worth an extended stay in civilization. A local innkeep had been kind enough to give the four of them room and board, and so, for the first time since his journey began, Ballan found himself in a proper bed. The room was well appointed, clean, with plenty of light. He glanced out the window... and was reminded that it had been wreathed in flowers. He sighed.
Word had gotten out about the monster - thought details varied wildly - and the 'heroes' who had defeated it. Ruebenberg, being inhabited by boisterous and festive people, had immediately decided to go on holiday in honor of those heroes. As such, Ballan had been festooned with gifts and - if Kahya was unsuccessful in repelling them - visits.
Boots, as was his wont, was absolutely nowhere to be found. Presumably, he was eating his fill of honeyed scones and various cooks of salmon at the behest of the townsfolk. Or perhaps was securing the Arcanum Crystal they had just received. He had not deigned to inform Ballan of either eventuality.
A knock at the door caused Ballan to stiffen involuntarily, but he relaxed when Kahya entered the room with a small tea tray. Ballan greeted her and she nodded solemnly as she set out the tea, poured him a cup, and took a seat next to his bed.
"Holgith still sleeps." Kahya informed him dutifully, handing him the teacup. Ballan accepted the drink graciously, but turned his mind towards their sleeping friend. Whatever he had done to stop the beast, it had taken its toll. Perhaps that was what the old man had meant when he said "Now comes the hard part..."
Ballan sighed, placing a hand on his wounded knee.
"I'd check on him myself..." Ballan trailed off. They both knew he lacked both the requisite mobility and expertise to actually help the sleeping orc. "I just don't know if it's that curse that was put on him, or the after effects of the magic he used."
"If the curse had the power to do this to him, it would have already." Kahya pointed out. Ballan nodded thoughtfully. "My people studied the Ancients - the Augmentus. Invoking their power always comes at a cost."
"Is that what Holgith did?" Ballan asked, and Kahya simply shrugged at him. Neither of them knew. Holgith was clearly ignorant of the particulars, and while the old man in Ballan's dreams had expounded on the idea somewhat, they were still mostly in the dark. Kahya was skeptical about this "dream man" in any case. Ballan probably would not have confided in her about the strange man at all, if he did not believe it was relevant to Holgith's condition. Boots had not been around to hear about it, but Ballan simply assumed if something like that interested the archmage, he would find out sooner or later.
"...The village elders would speak about the "soul-lost" in stories."Kahya continued unprompted. "Those who had partaken of a great power too close to the veil between the here and hereafter were swept away into the hereafter. Living souls, wandering the world of the dead."
Ballan ignored the chill running up his spine.
"...Well if the process was magical in nature, it's probably reversible." Ballan told her. "The problem is, I'm not sure even Boots knows soul magic." Kahya frowned. Holgith had saved the village - he had saved Ballan. Neither of them wanted to see him permanently comatose. Besides, he was surprisingly good company.
"You're in luck!" Came a muffled, but familiar, voice from roughly the height of the doorknob, followed by a dull thud and an exclamation of mild pain. Ballan blinked at the locked door as more swearing could be heard outside of it, followed by the sounds of someone fiddling with the lock. Kahya stood up, but before she could even cross the room, the door swung open.
Standing there was a dark-haired halfling woman, looking as though she had just stepped off a pirate ship. Or so it seemed to Ballan, what with the low cut, flowing blouse, red vest, sensible black boots and loose breeches. She was, visually, unarmed, but Ballan knew better than to take that at face value with this woman. She wore a look of smug triumph - her default expression - and was looking around the room as though she was casing the joint. Then she locked eyes with Ballan.
"Bally Ballan! Long time no see!" She kicked the door closed with her foot and walked across the room to a windowsill, before nimbly alighting upon it.
"...Tilda." Ballan greeted icily while she casually kicked her feet.
"You know this woman?" Ballan nodded when Kahya asked. She glanced between the two of them awkwardly. "...Would you like some privacy?"
"No." Tilda and Ballan said emphatically, at the exact same time. Kahya blinked, and sat down. Tilda opened her mouth to speak, but Ballan was in no mood for her games so he cut her off.
"Last we spoke you said - and I quote - 'Never come anywhere near me with that hedge magic bullshit ever again, you worthless bag of sparks.'" Ballan informed her, staring at her flatly. "So I can't imagine this is a social call."
"First, your spells were dreadful. We only succeeded in routing that monster despite you." Tilda pointed out immediately. "Second, who says I can't hold you in contempt and visit you socially! I mean look at this!" She spread her arms around, gesturing to the flowers and some small gifts the villagers had given him. "The hero of the hour, you are. Bally Ballan, who could only ever run and hide. And you helped kill some sort of god beast?" Tilda shook her head. "It beggars belief."
Kahya stood, and folded her arms.
"I demand an explanation for this rude woman." She said, glaring at Tilda but speaking to Ballan. "Or I will remove her."
Tilda raised an eyebrow at the threat, but didn't say anything. She just looked around the monk, towards Ballan.
"...Tilda and I used to venture together. Two jobs. The first went fine. The second was disaster. A disaster which I am partly to blame for." Ballan emphasized partly. "But we had bad intel and that was your and Krakkus' job." Kahya turned her attention to Tilda.
"If you have come here to belittle my friend, you will leave." Kahya spoke firmly. Ballan could not help but be taken aback when Kahya stood up for him, and even used the word "friend". It was a rare thing for anyone to take his side, historically. Still, he felt it was sincere. They had been through a lot together, he and Kahya.
Tilda held up her hands in mock surrender.
"You're right - I meant to say that it looks like you've improved." Tilda told Ballan. Satisfied by this, Kahya sat back down. "And if you'll remember, Ballan, my actual last words to you were "Go find someone to teach you magic, you blubbering idiot." Kahya began to stand up again, but Ballan interrupted.
"No, Kahya, she's right. I did need someone to teach me." Ballan looked directly at Tilda. "And I did find someone. Just like you said I should."
Tilda looked around the room.
"Where are they, then?" She asked. Ballan sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"I have no idea." He told her. "His name is Boots, he is- er... was, an archmage. And he's also a bear." Tilda stared at him for several uncomfortable seconds.
"Gods, Ballan. You've always been a terrible liar, but I can see that you're not lying now." Tilda went on eventually. "That matches up with what I heard, anyway. Some bear wizard running around assisting you and yours. Has he taught you anything, you know, worthwhile?"
Ballan thought for a moment.
"Well, he taught me an invisibility spell. And I was able to refine my escape spell to allow for flight, which has made it much more useful." And, sometime in the future, he would allegedly invent time magic. Ballan, of course, kept that part to himself.
"Well, it sounds like you have been improving." Tilda admitted. "In that case, I've got a job offer for you and your friends - the bear included."
Ballan started at that. Tilda wanted to work with him again?
"What's the catch?" Ballan asked immediately. Tilda grinned.
"Hey, he has learned!" Tilda leaned forward on the windowsill conspiratorily. "I need your help breaking Krakkus out of prison."
"What?" Kahya demanded.
"Krakkus is in prison?" Ballan exclaimed. Tilda hushed both of them.
"Listen for a moment!" She hissed imploringly. "After we went our separate ways, we came across a much, much better mage." Tilda began to explain. "And this guy had a plan to steal a bunch of Arcanum Crystals. More than one, even! His plan was perfect, too. Went off without a hitch. Until the heat started catching up with us, and he up and vanished with most of the crystals." Tilda sighed. "When Malcom's men finally caught up to us, I ran off with the last Crystal while Krakkus stayed behind and got captured."
"How noble of you." Kahya pointed out.
"Nobility was Krakkus' thing!" Tilda pointed out. "And he insisted, anyway. Look, Ballan." She turned her attention to him. "I know we never got along, but Krakkus, you two were pals!"
"Krakkus was polite to me, yes." Ballan agreed, but his mind was on other matters entirely. Namely, the crystals. "You're telling me that you're in possession of an Arcanum Crystal?" Ballan asked her simply.
"Not at the moment." Tilda replied. "I found out they were using it to track me, so I hid it somewhere they can't find it."
"It's difficult to conceal a crystal." Ballan pointed out. Tilda shrugged.
"I have my ways. Look, I'll cut to the chase." She hopped off the windowsill. "You all promise to help me spring Krakkus, and I'll give you the Crystal and even try and help with the unconscious orc in the other room."
Ballan looked at Kahya, who seemed skeptical.
"...How would you help Holgith?" She demanded to know.
"I wouldn't do anything. My skills are far more..." She produced a knife from her sleeve, and expertly flipped it through her fingers. "Mundane." The knife vanished. "But I know a druid who lives in the woods! She knows all sorts of mumbo jumbo."
A druid...? Druidic magic tended to influence things that were already natural, as opposed to creating new things from magic, which is what mages like Ballan specialized in. Boots, for instance, summons cutlery and dishes whenever he wants to have tea. A druid may still drink tea, but they would simply brew it themselves in dishes they have shaped from the earth. Or so Ballan had read. He had never met a druid.
"Who is this druid?" Kahya asked.
"Her name's Auntie Nub. Old Phobban lady. If she can't fix your friend, no one can." Tilda put her hands on her hips, and looked between the two of them. "So! Shall we take your friend to her?"
"...Boots did leave us the magic carpet." Kahya pointed out. Ballan sighed. If Kahya was on board, then so was he.
"Well, let's..." He glanced down at his leg. "That is, can you get Holgith on the carpet? I'll meet you at the entrance." Kahya nodded, and promptly exited the room. Ballan watched her go, wishing he could help.
"...You've changed, kid." Tilda murmured after Kahya left. "I remember a surly boy who would never ask for help. Yet here you are."
"A lot has happened." Ballan replied noncommittally. "Now, can you hand me that cane, there? I've got to hobble down the stairs."
Tilda did as she was asked. "How'd you get hurt, anyway?"
"Kills-the-Joke shot out my knee." Ballan explained. Tilda flinched.
"The pirate?" She hissed. "I'd heard they'd just caught him - he was involved in all that?" She gestured vaguely towards the direction of the now destroyed mountain. Ballan nodded as she handed him the cane, shaking her head.
"Gonna have to start calling you Ballsy Ballan at this rate." She told him with a small smile. Ballan chuckled.
"A compliment. How lucky for me." Ballan pulled himself out of bed, careful to keep the brace on his knee straight. Healing magic meant he would walk properly again, but it was still going to take some time. "Let's go meet this druid of yours."
"What about the bear?" Tilda asked. Ballan shrugged.
"He'll show up precisely when he means to." And with that, Ballan hobbled out the door.
Luckily, there was plenty of room for all of them on the carpet, even with Holgith laying down. It made the trip out to the woods a simple one. It was in the opposite direction from Craven's cross, and so had been spared most of Mortrunk's destruction. Tilda guided them as best she could, but admitted she was not used to seeing the forest from above. They were able to locate the clearing with Auntie Nub's cottage on it eventually... mostly because it was a pond, and her cottage appeared to be some sort of boat.
They landed the carpet some distance from the shore, and Ballan wondered why Tilda didn't have them touch down directly on the boat. It all made sense as two eyes surfaced from beneath the pond, and then a snout. There laid an oversized crocodile, staring right at them. Ballan froze, but Tilda just stepped forward.
"Oy, Brutus!" She raised her hand at the reptile, which grunted once. "Go tell Auntie that Tilda's here on a medical call!"
Without a sound, the crocodile vanished into the pond.
"That's Brutus, Auntie Nub's familiar." Tilda explained. "Nice enough bloke if you don't touch the water before talking to him. Otherwise..." Tilda mimed getting her arm bitten off by an alligator. She had always been good at this sort of thing.
"Fascinating." Kahya said, though she was looking at the cottage and the pond. "We would be wise to respect one so in tune with the natural world."
"Tilda!" A voice shrieked from inside the cottage-boat, which began to rock unsteadily. "You half-drowned rat!" The door to the cottage burst open, and out stepped a rotund phobban woman. She was missing her left arm at the elbow, and had a peg-leg beneath the knee on the same side. What's more, her large eyes, which would ordinarily be a solid black color, were instead milky-white with blindness. Her broad, flat salamander-like head swiveled back and forth as she sniffed the air. Then, she flopped into the water, her large, powerful tail bringing her to the shoreline in mere moments. It was then that Ballan realized the woman was nearly six and a half feet tall.
"Auntie, I can't believe you're not dead." Tilda replied affectionately. Auntie Nub chuckled.
"Well, you're in good health." She sniffed the air some more, passing over Kahya, pausing on Ballan, before finally taking a big whiff of Holgith. "Oh my! Mortrunk, my poor dear... is this what has become of you?" She placed a slimy hand on Holgith's chest, and sighed. "This orc is lost in Mortrunk's memories. They span thousands of years - he may never wake."
"What?!?" Ballan had no idea it was so serious. "Is there anything we can do?" Ballan insisted. Auntie Nub cackled, and turned to regard him.
"I like that! 'We'! Not "Oh, Auntie Nub, what can you do?" She cackled again. "You are a fine young man. And yes! There is something we can do!" She gestured at the boat with her good hand. "I'll take our patient aboard and prepare the ritual to bring him home. However, I will need a pure, natural mineral. A pearl - and a large one."
"Where may we find one?" Kahya asked.
"You're in luck!" Auntie Nub said. "Both good and bad luck, actually. I had such a pearl, but it was pilfered by the Lord of the Mire on account of he's a bastard." Auntie Nub nodded. "Go fetch my pearl from him, and we'll bring your friend home!" She slapped her tail against the ground, and Brutus emerged from the pond once again, this time crawling onto the shore. "Brutus will lead you to him. Good luck! You may need it."
Without another word, she sat on the flying carpet, smacked it a few times, and it reluctantly raised into the air to spirit Holgith over to her floating cottage. Brutus hissed expectantly, gesturing they should hop on his back.
"A crocodile ride." Ballan muttered as he tried to get comfortable on the reptile's back. "...How novel." Kahya crossed her legs, and Tilda made herself comfortable on Brutus' head. Then, the creature began lumbering through the woods. It must have been 10 times Boot's size. Ballan hoped this "Lord of the Mire" would be, at least, amenable to negotiation.
The Lord of the Mire was a massive crustacean with a shell of iron. Its long time spent in the swamp had turned it a horrifying reddish brown, and the lagoon it currently sequestered in was dyed blood red from the rust. As they entered the clearing, Ballan wasn't given the chance to start an overture of peace before the deeply territorial creature burst forth in attack. Kahya and Tilda leapt off of Brutus' back immediately, while the crocodile retreated to safety.
The crab was enormous, and fought like it was. Its pincers just missed Ballan as he leapt behind a tree. The tree wasn't so lucky, its one meter diameter crushed instantly in the crab's meaty claws as the old oak split in two. Kahya didn't attempt to attack the thing, she simply analyzed it, looking for a weak point. Several times, the Lord's enormous claws came close to snatching her, but she danced about, keeping her distance.
"We've got to disable those claws!" Ballan shouted.
"Easy for you to say!" Tilda shouted back. He wasn't sure when she had run up a tree, but she was there now. Ballan watched as she spooled some rope back into her pack.
He had an idea.
"Tilda! Your rope - toss it!" Ballan demanded. Tilda blinked at him, and gave him a sort of affronted look, but reluctantly did as she was told. Alright, if he could make people fly, making things fly should not be too much more difficult... He traced a rune in the air and reached out to the rope, willing it to animate. It responded. He floated one end of the rope back up to Tilda.
"Tie it to the tree!" He ordered her, before looping the rope over his arm. He made sure he had plenty of slack, otherwise, this was not going to work. Each turn of the rope drooped over his arm and hung down to the forest floor, creating a spool two-meters in diameter.
The crab was still focused on Kahya, its claws berating the nearby flora in a maddening attempt to slice her in two. There was not much time. He stepped off the crocodile, grabbed his cane, and handed the rope to Brutus with... some hesitation.
"Er... could you kindly pull this as taut as you can when I give the signal?" Ballan asked. Brutus, the amenable sort, snorted in agreement. It was probably an agreement anyway.
Ballan nodded, then muttered an invisibility spell, careful to enchant both himself and the rope. Brutus seemed unperturbed by his disappearing act. Ballan supposed living with a bog Witch would inure even the most skittish of wildlife to magic.
Ballan carefully - painfully - made his way forward - a direction he never thought he'd be going, what with the flurry of orangeish brown claws whipping around in front of him. Kahya glanced briefly in his direction as she continued to dance and taunt the crab. Doubtlessly, she knew what he was up to. No one was as observant as she.
A pincer lodged itself in the ground where Kahya had stood moments before, and the Lord let out a frustrated hiss to realize she was now standing on top of his claw. That was easily a ten-foot vertical jump on Kahya's part, but it was obvious she was starting to tire. As the Lord of the Mire ripped the claw back out of the ground, it launched Kahya into the air, and she used the momentum to fly over the top of it, and landed squarely on the creature's back. She slipped for a moment, but then made a pained expression as her foot slipped into the grooves of his shell.
Reduced to no more than a common beast of burden, the Lord of the Mire roared in rage. His claws, large as they were, could not find purchase on the nimble monk. He quickly gave up the flailing of his arms, and rolled his massive body to the side in an attempt to flatten Kahya.
Kahya, meanwhile, pulled fruitlessly at her stuck foot.
With his leg useless, he would need to rely on magic to get to her in time. With a shout, he launched forward, albeit sloppily as he mispronounced the last syllable of the spell. He ended up landing on his side, becoming visible as he did so. He was not so accomplished a mage that he could improvise a small flight spell and concurrently maintain invisibility.
Sure, he was directly in front of the Lord of the Mire, on the ground, covered in mud, with a bum leg... but he had a good shot at Kahya's foot. Or at least, the shell holding it in place.
Destruction magic was not Ballan's forte, and his aim was worse. Boots made it a point to stand well behind him during practice, and Kahya and typically found somewhere else to be. But, Boots was not here, and Kahya did not have the luxury of being anywhere else. It had to work, this time. He didn't have a choice.
"Sonus!" Ballan shouted, extending his hand. It was a sonic blast spell - if his aim was true, Kahya would just feel an unpleasant vibration in her bones. If his aim was not... it would not matter in about five more seconds anyway.
There was a humming noise, followed by a resounding CRACK as the Lord of the Mire's shell fractured. Khaya ejected herself, and managed to land nearby while the Lord of the Mire flailed in pain. Ballan was still holding the rope, but with his hand outstretched, he had dropped his cane.
Ballan didn't hesitate. He sent another blast at the giant crab. Hum-CRACK. It reeled backwards, stunned - but not defeated.
"Take the rope!" Ballan shouted at Kahya, who was moving almost before he spoke. She dashed towards the Lord of the Mire, who was powerless to stop her approach as Ballan blasted him again with that same sonic spell.
The Lord of the Mire was struggling to find its footing, and in a vain effort to orient itself, had both claws together pressing firmly against the ground. Kahya darted over, lassoing the coil around both massive claws, with a deftness belying the fact that she had probably not done this before. What had they taught her in that temple? She pulled the lasso taut as Ballan sent one final spell at the crab.
"Now, brutus, now!"
With a mighty pull, the crocodile lurched the Lord of the Mire forward, and then upward as the rope inexplicably held, just as Ballan had hoped it would. Tilda always carried quality rope. With one of six legs barely touching the ground, the Lord of the mire sort of... swung in place, uselessly.
"Hoisted by his own petard, eh?" Tilda said, causing Ballan to flinch. When had she popped up next to him? In any case, the lord was trapped and his domain was free to pilfer. Tilda rubbed her hands together. "Looks like I'm up!" She declared, and promptly swan dove into the muck.
Ballan sighed, and Kahya sat down next to him in the mud with a groan.
"Are you alright?" Ballan asked, immediately glancing at her foot. A large, purplish bruise was forming... all over it. He grimaced.
"It will heal." Kahya assured him.
"Is it as bad as it looks?" Ballan asked, refusing to be placated.
"Broken, I think." She replied honestly, then placed a hand on his shoulder. "Better than dead."
Ballan pressed his lips into a thin line, and nodded. Better than dead, certainly.
"But you were still running on it." Ballan realized, and Kahya nodded.
"Yes, I have been trained to ignore my body when it fails me." She informed him simply, but grimaced. She was in pain, undoubtedly. Ballan berated himself quietly. He had to do better, no matter how 'well' this had gone. He had to be better.
Tilda reappeared from the mire with a pearl the size of her own head, and a grin to match.
"Oh, look at this beauty!" She crowed. "If I didn't have to give it to Auntie Nub I'd keep it for myself." She crawled out of the pond, and looked down at herself. "This'll take forever to wash out."
"I don't think so, young lady!" Boomed an officious and very familiar voice. Boots wandered lazily into the clearing, with a basket under one arm. He tipped his Wizard hat at Ballan and Kahya before wiggling his claws. Instantly, Tilda's clothes were dry and clean. "The Good Mistress Nub has told me all! I was surprised to find my carpet in her possession - which I have brought with me, by the by - but it seems as though my apprentice has - once more - only the noblest of intentions."
"And where have you been?" Ballan asked, more out of a sense of obligation than anything. Boots patted the basket he carried.
"Fishing!" He declared. "For salmon!"
Tilda walked forward and dumped the pearl into Ballan's lap, before turning to look Boots up and down.
"Well. You really are a bear." She said, and Boots chuckled.
"Then, you have me at a disadvantage young lady. Worry not! You may explain all to me on the way back to our mutual friend."
"You're friends with the druid?" Kahya asked, and Boots nodded.
"Indeed! I knew she would be able to help our poor comatose friend, so I was busy fishing up some tribute for the lovely woman." He shook the basket, but then gestured to the pearl. "Alas, it seems you have shown me up in that regard, and so I shall have to ameliorate myself... with all this salmon."
He promptly opened the basket, pulled out an enormous fish, and nearly swallowed it whole. Then, without a word or asking their permission, he floated Kahya and Ballan onto the flying carpet, and gestured to Tilda to make herself comfortable. Once they were all seated, Boots took his own seat, and willed the carpet into the air.
"Onward!" Boots declared between mouthfuls of salmon.
Behind them, the Lord of the Mire hissed pitifully.
It turned out that Auntie Nub did not need the pearl at all, she just wanted it back. When they arrived, Holgith was already awake, and describing to Auntie Nub the "spirit journey" he went on to meet with his "ancestors". When everyone arrived, he heartily embraced each of them individually, thanking them for their help in waking him up - even Tilda, who was caught off-guard and unable to evade the orc.
It was then that Ballan asked her to explain to Holgith and Boots that she wanted to break Krakkus out of prison, and that she would give them an Arcanum Crystal if they did.
"I think it's a terrible idea." Ballan stated, for the record.
"On the contrary, I think it is a capital idea!" Boots declared. "...As soon as you, Holgith, and Kahya are recovered. Where is your friend being held, anyway?"
Tilda cleared her throat.
"Well, uh... Krakkus was arrested by Warden Deepburrow himself, and taken to the Wall."
Silence fell over the cottage. The Wall? The military installation turned penitentiary? Ballan had never heard of anyone escaping the Wall - it was only for the most hardened criminals, or those who had a deep mastery of deeper magic, making them a serious flight risk. It was a wizard's worst nightmare.
Even Boots seemed put out.
But not deterred.
"...Then we have quite a lot of planning to do." Boots declared, and for once, Ballan was just happy he was taking this seriously.
Kills-the-Joke huddled in the corner of his cell, one hand over his face. Ordinarily, his cell block was silent. There was only one other occupant - a surly Sauronid man who, like him, was generally uninterested in conversation. Unfortunately, his roommate was being noisy tonight. On account of the torture.
The dwarven warden - a man named Deepburrow - visited the Sauronid often, although he never got anything new out of him. Always the same questions. Where's the girl? Where's the crystal? How did you steal it? Always, the scaly Sauronid did not know.
Kills-the-Joke enjoyed listening to these little chats, however. That boy... he and his group of friends were after the Arcanum Crystals, were they not? He wondered if their search would lead them here... It would be the perfect chance to escape.
And exact some revenge.